- Patent theatre
The patent theatres were the
theatre s that were licensed to perform "spokendrama " after theEnglish Restoration of Charles II in 1660. Other theatres were prohibited from performing such "serious" drama, but were permitted to showcomedy ,pantomime ormelodrama . Drama was also interspersed with singing or dancing, to prevent the whole being too serious or dramatic.Public entertainments, such as theatrical performances, were banned under the
Puritan rule in theEnglish Commonwealth . After he was restored to the throne, Charles II issuedletters patent toThomas Killigrew andWilliam Davenant , granting them themonopoly right to form twoLondon theatre companies to perform "serious" drama. The letters patent were reissued in 1662 with revisions allowing actresses to perform for the first time (Fisk 73). Killigrew established his company, theKing's Company at theTheatre Royal, Drury Lane in 1663; Davenant established his company, theDuke's Company , inLisle's Tennis Court inLincoln's Inn Fields in 1661, later moving toDorset Garden in 1671.After problems under the direction of Charles Killigrew, Thomas' son, the King's Company was taken over by its rival, the Duke's Company in 1682. The two companies merged and the combined "United Company" continued under
Thomas Betterton at Drury Lane. After some disagreements, Betterton obtained a license from William III to form a new company at the old theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1695, which moved to theTheatre Royal, Covent Garden in 1720 (now theRoyal Opera House ). The two patent theatres closed in the summer months. To fill the gap,Samuel Foote 'sTheatre Royal, Haymarket became a third patent theatre in London in 1766.Further letters patent were granted to theatres in other English towns and cities, including the
Theatre Royal, Bath in 1768, theTheatre Royal, Liverpool in 1772, and theTheatre Royal, Bristol in 1778.These monopolies on the performance of "serious" plays were eventually revoked by the
Theatres Act 1843 , butcensorship of the content of plays by theLord Chamberlain underRobert Walpole 's Theatrical Licensing Act of 1737 continued until 1968.ee also
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Penny gaff
*Theatre Royal References
*Fisk, Deborah Payne (2001). "The Restoration Actress", Owen, Sue "A Companion to Restoration Drama". Oxford: Blackwell.
External links
* [http://www.hatii.arts.gla.ac.uk/MultimediaStudentProjects/99-00/9702981a/mmcourse/project/html/legit.htm The Patent Theatres: Drury Lane and Covent Garden]
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